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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25833229">Project Dreadnought</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureLightningEmeraldCloud/pseuds/AzureLightningEmeraldCloud'>AzureLightningEmeraldCloud</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DC Extended Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics), Man of Steel (2013), Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Faora is German because Antje Traue, Lena Luthor Doesn't Know Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, in terms of power levels, reign and kara would both defeat henry cavill's superman, why isn't reign her own character??</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:33:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,645</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25833229</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureLightningEmeraldCloud/pseuds/AzureLightningEmeraldCloud</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Reign defeats Supergirl. But before Kara can die, a stranger steps in and saves her. What is this stranger's connection to Kara? More importantly, what's her connection to Reign? </p><p>OR<br/>My version of Faora shows up on Supergirl (2015) and breaks canon. </p><p>If you recognize it, (or them) I don't own it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer, Faora Hu-Ul/Samantha "Sam" Arias, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Samantha "Sam" Arias &amp; Faora Hu-Ul</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Who's the German Chick?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/18012629">Crashing to Earth:  When Alien Bioweapons, Freshman Parties and the Justice League Collide</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/alephthirteen/pseuds/alephthirteen">alephthirteen</a>.
        </li>

    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Project Dreadnought</p><p>            She clutched the woman’s heart in her hand as she rhythmically clenched her fist around the dying organ. There was din all around them, people wailing for help or in sorrow, sirens blaring, and more than one <em>distraught </em>exclamation of “SUPERGIRL!”</p><p>            Supergirl, who had the mystery woman’s hand inside her chest pumping her heart. Supergirl, who had just taken a horrific beating on international television by an unknown woman in ebony armor. Supergirl, who had stopped breathing two minutes ago after her sickening plunge from the top of the CatCo building after the woman in black released her throat.</p><p>            Supergirl’s would be saviour pulled her hood back slightly to look up into the eyes of the new adversary who had crushed National City’s <em>Hope</em>. After meeting the cold red eyes glaring down at her, the woman in the hoodie returned her attention back to the dying Kryptonian and muttered, “<em>Ich bin zu alt für diese Scheiße</em>.” The ferrous stench of the Kryptonian’s lifeblood clogged the air.</p><p>            “HANDS UP!” a heavily armed woman screeched at figure she believed desecrating the corpse of National City’s Hero.  The woman in the hoodie didn’t respond.</p><p>            Meanwhile, Reign looked down at the chaos her debut had caused and shook her head in regret. “She needn’t have died you know. Had she only stayed out of my way; she would have been able to live in the new world I will create for all of you.” Her voice projected down to the masses.  </p><p>            The women and men in black tactical gear, along with most of the police in the area, fired on Reign. The Worldk           iller just looked back at the puny humans impassively. The bullets shattering into embers upon impact with Reign’s armor and skin driving her point to home to her attackers as much as any act of violence could; they were helpless against her. Instead of eradicating the humans foolish enough to fire on her like that, she just jetted away into the night. The fall of shattered glass fell on the humans like hail, causing further injuries and panic. Thankfully not too many large panes remained intact.</p><p>            “Get your hands off her!” Agent Danvers ordered the woman crouched over her sister.</p><p>            Still keeping her hand pumping Supergirl’s heart, she turned slightly and called, “A little assistance would be nice, Jackboot. This one will die without it.”</p><p>            Alex didn’t even hesitate at the unexpected distinct German accent the woman spoke with as she rushed to her sister’s side. “You’re…”</p><p>            “Keeping the blood flowing through the Cheerleader’s veins? <em>Ja.</em> Now, if you have access to an extraction vehicle and a stretcher, I’ll accompany her to your base where she can be sewn up properly and administered the Main Sequence star radiation she’ll need to recover. Stop gaping at me woman, give out some orders to your good little soldiers.”</p><p>            Alex admirably set aside the German’s light insults as she ordered her men to do exactly that. On the way to the DEO, the mystery woman said little else other than muttered swears in English.</p><p>            An hour or so later, after Kara Zor-El was stable as she could be for being in a coma, the woman was sitting opposite Alex and J’onn in what could only be described as an interrogation suite. Well, it was a lounge, with snacks, and one of the DEO nurses was cleaning the blood off of the woman’s hand, but there were handcuffs and glares and an armed set of nervous-looking guards at the door, so it was an interrogation suite.</p><p>            “Who are you and how did you know about the DEO?” Alex asked in a voice that was barely better than an accusatory tone.</p><p>            “You’re not going to thank me for saving Supergirl’s life?” the woman replied flippantly. “I mean, I did stick my hand into her <em>chest</em> and everything. It was very dramatic.” The woman’s tone was meant to provoke, and J’onn had the unenviable task of holding Alex in her seat.  </p><p>            “We could have resuscitated her,” Alex replied.</p><p>            “Oh? And you can generate enough force to administer chest compressions to a Kryptonian who could fall from orbit and shrug it off? I think not. The amount of electricity you’d need to restart her heart was unavailable to you in the field as well. So, without cutting a slit in her and manually stimulating her heart, she was <em>finished</em>.”</p><p>            “Thank you. Could you tell us your name?” J’onn asked diplomatically. He really didn’t want this to devolve into a shouting match; the emotions were already so high. The fact he couldn’t get into her head was concerning him, and thus she rated as a threat.</p><p>            “Do you want the name I’m legally registered as, or the truth, <em>green man?” </em>she responded in J’onn’s language.  Before he could rise to her insinuation of her heritage, she cut off his potentially violent response with her next sentence, “I’m not from your sad red planet. Relax. I <em>do </em>like your language though. I learned it from M’gann.” Both DEO members were visibly surprised at <em>that </em>particular name drop, but Alex rallied.</p><p>            “Are we going to play these cryptic games all day?” Alex replied.</p><p>            “You can call me Fae”</p><p>            “No last name?” J’onn asked with a sense of foreboding.</p><p>            “Juhl. Like, Julfest, Yuletide; Christmas time basically, but before the Christians appropriated it,” Faye said with a shrug.</p><p>            “Christmas Fairy?” Alex surmised with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>            “Not very intimidating, I’ll admit,” Fae shrugged. “I think it goes well with my pixie cut, no?”</p><p>            Alex rolled her eyes but would be <em>lying </em>to herself if the dark-haired pale young woman in front of her didn’t have a point. “This answers none of our real question. How did you know about the DEO?” J’onn asked.</p><p>            “Your little alien <em>Gestapo</em> is known to those who need to be wary of it. Many have lost loved ones, children even, to your men in black over the years. Taken in the night, or in broad daylight, never to be seen again. You’ve got quite the head start on Cadmus,” Fae replied acidly. “You’re like one of those filthy traitors who forced their jüdisch brothers and sisters onto the trains all those years ago aren’t you?<em> J’onn J’onzz of Mars</em>.<em> You and Supergirl both.</em>” Fae’s icy eyes never left the Martian as she condemned him and the blonde just out of surgery. J’onn wasn’t exactly sure how to reply to that. His eyes flared red as she slipped into his first language for a second time. “It’s the one aspect I truly respect Superman in more than his sexier cousin.</p><p>            “Stop attacking J’onn and answer the question,” Alex defended her father-figure. Though to be fair she nearly slapped Fae for the crack at her sister.</p><p>            “I already did. Now, if you two are done wasting my time, for saving our <em>saviour </em>no less, I’m going to head out and get a take-out or something.”</p><p>            As Fae moved to the door, there were several guns trained on her. “I don’t think so,” Alex smirked. “As grateful as I am for you saving Supergirl, you have raised a lot of uncomfortable questions about yourself. The kinds of questions that we would be failing in our duty to not get answers to before letting you run loose.”</p><p>            Fae levelled Alex with an unimpressed look before rolling her eyes and saying, “You didn’t know who I was this morning did you? If I haven’t popped up on your radar so far, why would I trouble you now?”</p><p>            “We could say the same thing about Reign,” J’onn replied quickly.</p><p>            Fae tilted her head and conceded, “Okay that’s a fair point. But as I demonstrated, I’m at minimum a good Samaritan. You have no just cause. If you really want to detain me, I’ll get my lawyer involved and drag you cockroaches out into the light of day. We are done here.”</p><p>            As impressive as her tone may have been, Fae was still blocked from exit by two men who each towered over her and were armed with DEO standard weaponry. She was staring them down when J’onn said, “Are you an alien?”</p><p>            Fae turned and smirked, “Is potentially sacrificing your cannon fodder by denying my freedom really the way you would want to hypothetically find out?”</p><p>            Alex’s hand was inching towards her sidearm and the two men guarding the door looked tense, which really struck Alex as <em>off.</em> There was something <em>different </em>about this girl, and she knew it, J’onn knew it, and the two agents were responding to her annoyance like she was some kind of predator.</p><p>            “Let her go. But Ms. Juhl, we will be contacting you in the future,” J’onn finally said; de-escalating the tension in the room.</p><p>            “Oh, great,” Fae muttered as he rather insistently placed a DEO business card in her hand. The two agents lowered their guns but didn’t leave her that much room in the doorway to exit. Alex was going to <em>order </em>them to let her pass, but Fae decided she was fine with the men’s pathetic attempt at intimidation.</p><p>            Fae grinned as she walked between them. They each blocked off about a third of the door each, leaving not enough room for her to pass without colliding against them. So, when she did collide against them, they were unpleasantly shocked as they both felt they had been winged by a dickish driver who ignored the bike lanes. The two men were spun around and basically collapsed on each other, each sustaining heavy bruising where Fae had bumped into them. Alex couldn’t help hut gasp a little.</p><p>            Fae spun on her heel, sneered down at the two downed men and pronounced them, “Mittelmäßig.” She was not troubled again on her path out of the DEO.</p><p>            Back in the lounge, Alex and J’onn just looked at each other in consternation as Agent Susan Vasquez poked her head in and asked, “Who was that hottie?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Two Talks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lena and Alex have a chat while Fae finds time for her one true love: mango lassi.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>CHAPTER: Two Talks</p><p>           </p><p>            “James let me go!” Lena snapped as she broke free of him. He let out a shout of protest, but she ignored him as she ran forward into the crowd gathering around their fallen hero.</p><p>Supergirl had been defeated, and it was the most brutal thing she’d ever seen. Her heart was beating faster than was healthy and dread coiled in her gut. By the time Lena broke to the front of the crowd, Supergirl had been spirited away. There were agents in black tactical armor hosing down the center of the crater the Girl of Steel created. It only took a few moments for Lena to register the harsh chemical smell that burned the back of her throat and realised they were contaminating Supergirl’s blood splattered on the ground. Presumably so nobody could swab it and experiment on it or defile it in some other way. The logical part of her brain was thrilled with this knowledge.</p><p>The emotional side of her mind was distraught and funnily the first thing she thought of was, ‘<em>Kara just lost a close friend tonight. Unless Supergirl somehow miraculously survived.</em>’ She was having flashbacks back to when Superman was in a similar state. But that was when the shit show with her brother went down in Metropolis and she simply didn’t care about Superman in more than a conceptual way. She just needed to get the hell away from all this <em>noise</em>.</p><p>Lena stalked down an alley away from the crowd and texted her driver to come bring her home. She leaned against the alleyway’s wall before bending over and vomiting her lunch date with Kara all over the cold asphalt.</p><p>Grateful there weren’t any people around, and that James hadn’t followed her, she straightened up and produced a tissue and wiped away the nastiness coating her lips and chin. She heard a noise at the opposite end of the alley and quickly palmed her suppressed 9mm handgun inside her purse. But it was just a rat. A particularly unsightly example of the species, which Lena shot anyways.</p><p> Thankfully before long, Lena’s driver rolled up to the curb and swiftly got out to open the door for Lena. Once the driver shut the door, she briefly cast a glance at the media clusterfuck a couple blocks away before shaking her head and getting behind the wheel. “Thanks for coming on such short notice Imogen,” Lena said.</p><p>“Not a problem Boss,” Imogen replied with a distinct Belfast lilt. A couple minutes later they were on the road and Lena raised the partition, so she had total privacy. She trusted Imogen, mostly, but the young woman wasn’t trusted enough to listen into her private conversations with Kara. Nobody was trusted that much, not Sam Arias, and not even Jessica Huang…okay maybe Jess, but that’s because she’d been unfailingly loyal to Lena since they worked in R&amp;D at LuthorCorp under Lionel. Jessica was the limit. And Lena thanked whatever deities watching over her that her intuitive assistant did <em>not </em>poke at her slightly dependent friendship with Kara.</p><p>Then she called Kara. No answer. Lena flinched at the upbeat voicemail, but hangs up and tried again, and then a few more times.</p><p>No answer.</p><p>No answer.</p><p>No answer. Lena nearly pitched her phone across the car.</p><p>No answer.</p><p>No answer.</p><p>“Ms. Luthor?”</p><p>Lena gasped at the response before recovering herself, “Agent Danvers?”</p><p>“What is it?” Alex seemed angry, which Lena could almost understand but didn’t really have the emotional tact to navigate it right now.</p><p>“Where’s Kara? Has she seen what’s happened?” Lena asked desperately. All she could think about were the times the blonde reporter had talked about the good Supergirl did for the city and how even <em>she</em> believed the Lena was indeed a good person with a long shadow cast from behind her.</p><p>Lena could just imagine that light fading from Kara’s eyes as she watched the footage of that <em>bitch </em>breaking Supergirl on the ground for everyone to see. And oh god, Ruby was going to be crushed too. Lena clenched her teeth imagining Sam and Ruby sitting on the couch watching what just happened and Sam having to explain to Ruby that in real life, the good guys usually are killed.</p><p>There was a pause before Alex responded, “No. She hasn’t. But she’s asleep and isn’t feeling well. Can I take a message for her?”</p><p>Lena shook her head even though she knew Alex obviously couldn’t see her. “No. Uh, thanks, Alex, but I didn’t want her to be alone right now. I know how much Kara loves, loved Supergirl, and this will crush her. I just thought she could use a friend right now, but if you’re with her, she’ll probably be alright. Well, not <em>alright</em>, but you know what I mean.”</p><p>Alex audibly hissed in her next breath. “I didn’t think about it like that.” Lena waited for the red-head to say more, but all she could hear was what sounded like Alex methodically trying to control her breathing.</p><p>“Are you alright Agent?” Lena asked gently.</p><p>“No. No I am not.” Alex said curtly. She exhaled loudly and said, “Look, I know both our phones are basically as secure as it gets thanks to your personal tech and my DEO phone so I’m going to tell you a piece of classified information. She’s alive.”</p><p>Lena almost choked in relief, “Oh thank God.” Lena couldn’t know this, but on the other end of the line, Alex’s face was the picture of shock at the Luthor’s emotional outburst. Her mouth was agape as she heard Lena almost sob her next words, “Thank you so much for telling me that Alex.”</p><p>“But she’s not going to be awake for a little while,” Alex clarified, still stunned by Lena’s genuine burst of loyalty and emotion in equal measure.</p><p>“Is there <em>anything </em>I can do for her. Please, I just want to help. I owe her so much,” Lena could almost slap herself for <em>begging</em>. Lillian certainly had done exactly that in the past. But this situation was beyond Lillian’s scolding.</p><p>“More than you know,” Alex heard herself say. Her eyes widened as she heard Lena’s sharp in take of breath, but before the CEO could ask about that odd statement Alex pressed on, “I don’t know yet. I’ll get back to you when I do.”</p><p>Lena curbed her disappointment, but it’s not like she expected any better. “Thank you.”</p><p>“Alright, then. Bye Lena.<br/>            “Bye Alex.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Elsewhere, Fae decided she wanted Indian takeaway for dinner. After getting home, she divested herself of her workout clothes and changed into sleepwear. She fingered the emerald pendant hanging around her neck before removing that too.</p><p>She placed the takeaway order online and turned on the news. Predictably, there was chaos in the aftermath of Supergirl’s defeat. After about five minutes of that drivel, she decided to power up her game console instead. It had been too long since she had wandered around the world of the post-apocalypse as Aloy.</p><p>Perhaps predictably, in the middle of an important cutscene, her food arrived. She slapped a generous tip the driver’s hand despite the strange look she gave Fae. Having closed the door, Fae carried in four heavy bags of food with a skip in her step over to the kitchen island where she lay down the spoils. Two of those bags contained nothing but mango lassi. She couldn’t help but grin at the sight of the small pyramid of drinks. Fae was a woman of simple pleasures, mostly, and this was one of the things at the top of her list. For all the existential turmoil her physiology had caused her, it was <em>almost </em>made worth it that she could consume whatever whenever without limit and suffer no ill health effects.</p><p>                        Some minutes later, she had demolished her feast of extra spicy Tikka Masala x4, garlic naan x3, chicken naan x4, Tandoori Chicken, and her veritable Smaug-worthy horde of Mango Lassi. As opportunity would have it, her phone started vibrating with a call just as she was drying off the last of her dirty utensils. Fae rolled her eyes at the caller, but picked it up anyway, “I’m going to put in headphones, be a dear and wait a moment.”</p><p>            The replying huff of impatience was totally worth it.</p><p>            “Okay, I can hear you now. You wanted to ask me something, <em>Kal-El?</em>” Fae said with a grin.</p><p>            “Is she alive?” the Kryptonian Boy Scout asked with genuine panic in his voice.</p><p>            “<em>Ja</em>. But she’s not in a good way. Her sloppy close-quarter combat skills have finally cost her something real,” Fae pointed out as she walked back over to her PS4 and decided to skip the cutscene. She was cavalier, but even Fae knew to respect this conversation more than game dialogue she’d already heard half a dozen times. So back to wrecking Thunderjaws it was. She could multi-task.</p><p>            “Don’t talk about her like–,” he growled, but managed to reel his anger in a little. “How bad is she?”</p><p>            “Coma. I managed to keep her heart beating long enough for them to do the whole sunlamp song and dance. But the Martian and his pet redhead, Danvers, wanted me to stick around for a bit afterwards. Interrogating the woman who saved the maiden’s life, can you imagine?”</p><p>            “Do they know when she’ll wake up?” he replied. He was almost audibly restraining himself from rebuking her over her casual disrespect for the DEO personnel.</p><p>            “<em>Nein</em>. No concern for me over the fact the Martian and Agent Danvers interrogated me? <em>Kal, </em>you heartless bastard.” Fae mock pouted.</p><p>            Clark growled, “Faora, I swear to God–,”</p><p>            “Swear to Rao or not at all, <em>infidel.</em>” Faora interrupted with a sharpness she hadn’t used all night. A sharpness Clark knew well to avoid in person.</p><p>            “We can discuss that tired issue later,” Clark heaved with a sigh.</p><p>            “Then don’t fucking provoke me,” Faora replied with irritation. “You should be a little prouder to be Kryptonian. We are <em>the </em>privileged ones among countless races on this planet for more reasons than I think you understand. Are you truly so desperate to reject Rao even when <em>She</em> gave you breath? That’s a fucked-up way to repay our Goddess, <em>Kal-El.</em>”</p><p>            “We can have another rousing theology discussion later,” Clark flinched at Faora’s responding hiss of ire. But he admirably continued anyway, “How much do J’onn and Alex know about you?”</p><p>            “That I can knock over two men in full gear like bowling pins for fun. But not much to distinguish me beyond that; <em>and </em>that he can’t get into my head, but there is a myriad of explanations for both of those identifiers. And my ‘human’ appearance could be simulated by over a dozen different distortion technologies on the black market. It’s not like they could do much to me even if they knew the truth,” Faora pointed out. “I’m pretty sure I have a test in mind that would totally throw them off.”</p><p>            “You don’t want them as your <em>enemies</em>,” Clark said solemnly.</p><p>            “I don’t <em>care </em>about them, <em>Kal. </em>And the mind games are kind of fun. Once they realise who and what I am, those games will stop because of some standing orders the DEO and Cadmus were given regarding me in specificity. Enough about me, aren’t you curious about the hottie that destroyed your cousin?” Faora asked.</p><p>            “Yes. I was just about to ask about that,” Clark responded again with poise enough that Faora was impressed. She wasn’t exactly <em>trying </em>to wind him up, but it just sometimes happened that way.</p><p>            Faora walked over to the wall opposite her kitchen that was really just a massive window from floor to ceiling and gazed up into the sky. “I have an idea, but I’d need to talk to her, <em>Reign,</em> first. And I’m not sure when that’ll happen. She’s likely gone a long time in hiding without anyone picking up on her human guise. This may take time, and patience is <em>definitely </em>one of my strong suits.”</p><p>            “And you think she’ll listen to you?” Clark asked skeptically.</p><p>            “Absolutely,” Faora’s declaration left no hint of doubt.</p><p>“I figured I’d ask. I’ll visit the Fortress tomorrow, see what I can dig up,” Clark said.</p><p>            “<em>Viel Glück bei Ihrer Suche dort</em>. I don’t know how much that hermit man cave of yours would have on this new threat. Your parents’ generation was apparently quite revisionist from what I’ve heard. If this woman is indeed Kryptonian, she’s certainly stronger than you, and that would indicate something anomalous. Your home was not so fond of those.”</p><p>            “It’s worth a try at any rate. And for the last time, I don’t speak German Faora.” Clark sighed.</p><p>            “You should learn it. It might make your corn-filled brain grow a little bigger. But that’s a talk for another time. You know there’s nothing <em>stopping you </em>from checking in on Kara, right?”</p><p>            “Goodnight Faora,” Clark hung up, clearly aborting any discussion of that messy history. Not that Faora was particularly eager to continue speaking with the man, but she found his hasty exit from their conversation amusing.</p><p>            Faora chuckled and hung up her end of the call with a swipe. Disconnecting her headphones, she unmuted her video game. She mulled over their conversation and realised she probably <em>should </em>seek Reign out before she stirred the pot too much.</p><p>After all, according to Reign herself, Supergirl only made an enemy of her once it was clear the heroine had found her hill to die on, protecting sinners. And since sin was such a nebulous concept, there was <em>certainly </em>room for negotiation.</p><p>Faora tutted to herself as she reflected on how many enemies the <em>House of El </em>created or encouraged due to their inflexible black and white view of morality. Faora smirked as she noted that she may have more in common with Reign than the Supers after all.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Imra Ardeen and General Lane are introduced.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So she’s in a bacta tank?” Agent Susan Vasquez asked.</p><p>Mon-El looked confused, but Winn spoke up, “It’s not a bacta tank.”</p><p>“But it’s healing her right? It’s looking pretty Star Wars to me,” Vasquez said. She stood off to the side as they observed their Supergirl unconsciously floating with the mind-scape crown resting on her brow. Brainy was busy doing his telepathic mind palace schtich and Alex had left the room a little while ago.</p><p>“Yeah. She’ll live, but it’s just a matter of when she’ll wake up now,” Mon-El said with a smile.</p><p>Imra Ardeen watched as her Husband, Mon-El, make moon eyes at the Kryptonian she had spent nearly her whole life idolizing. She saw her idol fall, and knew she’d have nightmares about it for a long time. But the ugly feeling she had when she saw her Husband unashamedly exhibiting ROMANTIC love for another woman <em>right in front of her</em>, was inexcusable. It was insulting. The anger and jealousy roaring in her ears became too much and she left the room rather than risk her powers growing beyond her discipline.</p><p>She spent the next several minutes navigating the grey non-descript corridors before stumbling on a conversation she was certain she wasn’t meant to be hearing.</p><p>“She was Kryptonian wasn’t she? The woman who saved Kara,” Alex asked calmly.</p><p>“It’s possible. But jumping to conclusions would be foolish,” J’onn, the Director said levelly. “Her casual display of strength and human-like appearance would support that, as would her being immune to my mental probes.”</p><p>“You tried to get into her head?” Alex said with a raised eyebrow, or at least to Imra  it sounded like her eyebrow was raised. “Did she notice?”</p><p>“I don’t think so. Or she’s an incredible actor. However, there are any number of species combined with image distortion technology that would explain her as well. I suppose if she were to be exposed to Kryptonite, we’d know for sure one way or another; but that isn’t a path I plan to walk. She was right, Kara would’ve died without her,” J’onn pointed out solemnly.</p><p>Imra herself had <em>many </em>questions for the mystery woman everyone at the DEO seemed to be talking about. She hadn’t seen eyes that cold in her life, but the smirk the pixie cut adorned woman wore as she departed the DEO wasn’t one of malice, but simple bemusement. Also, Imra thought her dress sense was distinctly lacking, or at least until Vasquez pointed out to her that the mystery woman was wearing pretty standard workout clothes. Imra had blushed at her fish out of water faux paux.</p><p>“We should contact her. If not recruit her outright,” Alex said almost grudgingly.</p><p>“Do you think you can handle that?” J’onn asked without judgement. “She didn’t seem to hold our organization in very high regard. She basically called Supergirl and myself race traitors.”</p><p>“She just completely overlooked the fact we kinda have been keeping a lid on all the insanely powerful malcontents who make this planet home. We’re not perfect, but since Marsden’s administration really got into swing, Aliens’ rights have actually been solidified into law. There’s talk of an official constitutional amendment actually,” Alex said.</p><p>“She probably knew all that,” J’onn said.</p><p>“Yeah, well before <em>you </em>got here, Henshaw the cyborg, or pre-cyborg Henshaw, was <em>actually </em>besties with Project Cadmus so he had a point about the DEO’s history. But we’ve been better. <em>So </em>much better,” Alex said with fire. “Other than A-Astra, we haven’t really even killed any hostiles either,” she said much quieter.</p><p>J’onn sighed, but he also put a reassuring hand on his protégé’s shoulder,</p><p>“Alex…we’ve been over this a hundred times. Kara forgave you. You know that.”</p><p>“I, I know that she told me she did. But,” Alex exhaled harshly. “I haven’t. Forgiven me. Kara used to talk about Astra <em>all </em>the time when we were kids. She might as well have held up the stars for Kara. It really seemed that Astra had more or an equally positive impact on Kara than her own parents. And I killed her. I couldn’t bashed her over the head with the flat of the blade, still kryptonite, would’ve stopped her, at least until Kara got there. But no.”</p><p>Imra had the <em>distinct feeling </em>she was eavesdropping on a conversation Alex may or may not rip her a new one if she found out. But there was just something about the</p><p>thrill of the moment that seduced her into staying hidden just out of sight.</p><p>“We’ve gone over this, you did the right thing,” J’onn said with real feeling. “Any agent here, hell, any armed law-enforcement personnel would’ve been well within legal bounds to use lethal force. You saved my life.”</p><p>            “I don’t regret <em>that </em>part. Please don’t think that J’onn,” Alex said emphatically. “But I should’ve done better, and as usual, Kara paid the price. I’m sorry J’onn, but you’ll never be able to convince my conscience otherwise. Can we talk about Fae Juhl? Are we sure that’s even a real name?”</p><p>            J’onn fixed Alex with a sympathetic look before flicking his eyes to where he could sense Imra Ardeen. She must’ve left her Legion Ring in her personal quarters for some reason. Ah, she could feel his presence though. He gave her an encouraging light telepathic nudge.</p><p>Her thoughts were very guilty, turning over the conversation she was eavesdropping on. But there certainly wasn’t any malevolent or pre-meditated intent. “Ms. Ardeen, you can come out now.” Alex scowled at the newcomer before frantically wiping away her tears.</p><p>            “You didn’t hear a fucking thing from me, Ardeen,” Alex growled as Imra fully entered the room. She had the foresight to close the door behind her with her telekinesis.</p><p>            “No Ma’am,” Imra replied at once, flushed with embarrassment and more than a little shame. Alex’s glare softened a bit at the woman’s obvious instant remorse. It was hard to say angry with the future girl’s adorable visage, or her smokey voice.</p><p>            “Would you like to weigh in on this? I won’t ask for your future knowledge, but this Fae Juhl character has rapidly become more than uncomfortably interesting.”</p><p>            “Um. I’m not an <em>agent</em>, I don’t know that it’s my place,” Imra said hesitantly.</p><p>            “Perhaps an outsider perspective will do us some good,” J’onn replied good-naturedly as he leaned against the desk casually.</p><p>            “If you say so sir. I didn’t see her personally, other than the footage captured by the media. But I think you should probably hire her.”</p><p>            “What?” Alex asked as her eyebrows climbed to her hairline.</p><p>            “As a consultant. For saving Supergirl, we, mostly you two, owe her an unrepayable debt. Wouldn’t it be better to keep that in-house? Or more practically, keep an eye on such an individual?”</p><p>            “We could have surveillance teams on her?” Alex suggested.</p><p>            “If she has heightened senses, they’d be made immediately, and I don’t particularly want to make an enemy of this woman.” J’onn reasoned. “She didn’t have to come in here. She shared her open <em>disapproval </em>with our organization, and she knew exactly who we are. What with how she casually put both Dominguez and O’Connor in the sick bay with a medley of cracked bones, ugly bruising, and a dislocated shoulder between them, I’m going to go out and say she’s not human. And even among aliens, not too many could do damage to men like that without even trying. She was absolutely confident we wouldn’t have been able to stop her leaving if it came to violence.”</p><p>            “So, do you really think she’s one of Kara’s people? A Kryptonian?,” Imara asked with wide eyes.</p><p>            J’onn shrugged, “At this point, it may be safest for us to assume that moving forward. Or a Daxamite. It would also explain her utter confidence in being here.”</p><p>            “Sir, she called us the <em>Gestapo</em>, I’m pretty sure she thinks we belong in the gutter,” Alex said wryly. “Funny comparison considering she’s German, or at least her accent is. She also called you a race traitor if not in so many words. I think she was trying to provoke you.”</p><p>            “She certainly managed to provoke you,” J’onn replied with a bit of sass. “Calling out Kara the way she did? She was confident the entire time, despite being in the belly of the beast, so to speak.”</p><p>            “So would you reach out to her with an offer? Because with Reign hanging about uncontested, I’d feel safer if we had another potential heavy hitter on our side. My <em>husband</em> is strong, but we all know none of us really stand a chance alone against this new demon Reign,” Imra said.</p><p>            Neither Alex nor J’onn was particularly interested in dissecting exactly why when Imra said <em>husband</em>, she pronounced it like ‘that cheating fucking arse-wipe’. Not their business. J’onn shrugged, “We did say we’d contact her, and the background check we did on her did turn up legitimate results. We at least know she’s a tax-paying German/American dual citizen, and woman who spent her time, on paper at least, mostly between National City and Leipzig. And we have her landline.”</p><p>            “Kara’s been in a coma for days and Reign is just making more and more of a nuisance of herself. While the Legion may be able to hold her off for a few minutes and land a few hits on her, a true fight would wnd with you all dead. I’m sorry, but if she was able to defeat Kara like that, you guys don’t stand much of a better chance,” Alex said with a sigh.</p><p>            Imra bristled at Agent Danvers’ dismissal of their fighting capabilities, but the logical part of her knew that she had a strong point. “What do you have to offer this Fae woman?” Imra asked not unkindly.</p><p>            “I don’t know.” Alex said with an exhausted exhale. “Even if we were going to approach her, she made her distaste if not outright hatred for DEO staff known quite clear.”</p><p>            “Are you blind?” Imra asked with a gentle smirk. “<em>I</em> could approach her. I’m not DEO. And honestly, my husband making moon eyes at Supergirl is anathema, so I have no qualms about approaching a potential ally.”</p><p>            Alex appraised Imra before saying, “We don’t know how to entice her to our side.”</p><p>            J’onn had been mostly silent in this part of the conversation so far, but he chose to speak up with, “I think she’s bored. Just, the way she injured Dominguez and O’Connell,”</p><p>            “It’s O’Connor,” Alex mumbled.</p><p>            “Whatever,” J’onn shrugged, “The way she smirked when she turned to them was like a cat. She was flexing, and making a point. I think she <em>might </em>be willing to help us with some things is we can guarantee the government won’t go after her for using her powers like that, with reasonable limits of course,” he said after a little consideration.</p><p>            “Alright. When Should I call her?” Imra asked as she pulled up Fae’s home phone number.  </p><p> </p><p>            The sun had just set below the horizon, and General Samuel Lane was enjoying his nightcap in his home overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.</p><p>            “<em>Guten Abend</em>, <em>General</em> Lane,” Faora said with a grin. General Lane drew his side arm and only just stopped himself from emptying the clip it into Faora’s face. After a few seconds his heartbeat returned to normal parameters and the General put his gun down. The noticeable tremble in his hand r had Faora grinning. She knew it was really fear.</p><p> “That’s one hell of a way to say hello,” Faora chuckled.</p><p>            “What do you want?” the general ground out.</p><p>            Faora levelled him with an unimpressed look, “Since I confiscated that Omegahedron you left with Max Lord, you and I haven’t been friends have we?” Faora had the gall to have actually brought the ungodly power source with her. She was tossing it from hand to hand like it was a tomato she was reading to throw at an offensively unimpressive renaissance faire performer. General Lane was not pleased.</p><p>            “We’ve never been friends, Kryptonian,” Lane growled back. While the man may have been a xenophobe of the highest order, he knew when he was speaking to <em>Death</em>, and that it was in his best interest to be respectful.</p><p>            “It’s such a shame too, since Lord Technologies was intending a coup against L-Corp as well. They may have even succeeded, after all; who would’ve been able to compete with legitimate Kryptonian tech like this on the market? Perhaps he put his eggs in the wrong nest. And perhaps your investment in Maxwell Lord” Faora said. General Lane’s restrained hiss of thwarted anger was the limit of his expression of rage. If he weren’t such a restrained man, perhaps Faora would’ve been treated to a profane-laced rant. She was disappointed, those were always so silly.</p><p>            “What do you want?” Samuel Lane asked in a tone that indicated a number of ugly feelings he had about the apex predator in the room with him.</p><p>            Faora smirked at how he addressed her. “Well, I’ve always enjoyed the times we’ve met, but I suppose that’s neither here nor there.” General Lane blanched as he remembered the few times they <em>had </em>met. Each time, Faora had made abundantly clear that Earth was just not ready to deal with a threat of her magnitude. And didn’t that just burn?</p><p>             “What do you want?” the general repeated.</p><p>            “It’s come to my attention there is a Kryptonian vigilante going by the moniker ‘Reign’. You will not touch her,” Faora informed him bluntly.</p><p>            “Excuse me?” General Lane replied predictably.</p><p>            “You do whatever it is you military types do to put pressure on the DEO to not engage in hostilities with this woman. If you can convince the president to order it, so much the better,” Faora said with a pitying look.</p><p>Faora continued, “If you’ve seen the same footage that’s been broadcast around the world, you’ll notice Reign wears armor. Kryptonite bullets are fancy, but against a <em>properly </em>armoured Kryptonian, they’re not <em>super effektiv</em>, as you know.” Faora allowed a brief sneer to leak through her mostly neutral front.</p><p>“Alright. But what’s your angle? What do you–you want to open a dialogue with this menace don’t you?” Samuel Lane said with an undercurrent of horror. He didn’t need <em>two </em>fucking juggernauts in his backyard.</p><p>“That’s not your concern <em>General</em>. But suffice to say, Reign is beyond the scope of what this country’s military can handle if they pick a serious fight with her,” Faora stated.</p><p>“And the reason you’re not in the Oval Office right now talking to Marsden?” Lane asked with a scowl.</p><p>At this, Faora openly grinned at him, “Because I find satisfaction in bullying you, you fucking bigot.” With a chuckle, Faora was gone from the room in a burst of speed far exceeding General Lane’s ability to track.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Enter Arias</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ruby and Sam are introduced.</p>
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    <p> </p><p>CHAPTER: Enter Arias</p><p>            “Mom? Hey, Mom? It’s time to get up sleepy head!” Samantha Arias awoke to her daughter’s ‘I’m super hyped’ voice after what Sam could only describe as one hell of a hangover. If only she remembered whatever the hell she drank. Or <em>if </em>she drank. She lost time again; but if she ended up in her own bed safe and sound, she didn’t think it was a <em>total </em>emergency. Probably just something to bring up at the next yearly physical.</p><p> The last week had been a bad one for her. A series of migraines, Supergirl getting taken out of commission, a chillingly efficient debutante vigilante, and Lena basically going ballistic over her Kara ‘She’s definitely not my girlfriend Sam!’ Danvers’ mysterious absence did not make for a very good week. As she roused herself from slumber, the distinct smell of waffles drifted into her room.</p><p>            Samantha smiled as she realised she did in fact have the best daughter in the world. “I’m up!” She wandered into the kitchen to discover her daughter had indeed been making waffles. She would forever deny her properly Pavlovian response to that holy scent of fresh homemade waffles.</p><p>“Mom, stop drooling and come sit down,” Ruby Arias chirped from bedroom threshold. The teenager was admirably holding in gales of laughter at her mother’s predictable and hilarious reaction to her daughter’s surprise. “I made waffles for you.”</p><p>Sam smiled blearily before rising from her covers, casually kicking them clear off her bed. “Yikes,” she muttered as she and her daughter observered the casual display of strength.</p><p>“You know, there is such a thing as <em>too </em>excited,” Ruby pointed out wearing a cheeky grin.</p><p>            “No such thing,” Sam muttered as she shoveled a couple waffles onto her plate from the serving plate that was positively stacked with them. After inhaling one and a half of them without pause, much to her daughter’s surprise, she asked, “Hey Ruby? This is <em>amazing </em>and all, but what’s the occasion?”</p><p>            Ruby looked confused for a moment before she facepalmed. “Uh, <em>Mom</em>, do you not know what today is?”</p><p>            Samantha looked bemusedly on her daughter’s adorable frustration. “<em>Uh, </em>Ruby, it’s the weekend?”</p><p>            “Not yet. But on the other hand, It’s your <em>BIRTHDAY</em>, dummy!” Ruby was torn between laughter and facepalming again at her mother’s deer-in-headlights look. “It’s the Winter solstice. You know, December 21<sup>st</sup>? Mom, C’mon!” Ruby tossed a waffle from her own plate at her mom’s face.</p><p>            Surprisingly, Sam caught it, and took a massive bite out of it and somehow managed to smirk. Ruby looked down at her plate and then realised that she had in fact lost herself a waffle. Her pout went unheeded as Sam smugly finished the waffle Ruby had so kindly, if accidentally, gifted her. Once she finished, Samantha gave her daughter a warm hug and said, “You’re the best damn daughter in the world.”</p><p>            Ruby preened as much as she could in the midst of a hug, but then she pulled back with a victorious grin and said, “That’s another dollar for the swear jar!”</p><p>            Sam rolled her eyes and extracted a single dollar bill from her wallet, crumpled it, and tossed it like a basketball across the kitchen to where the swear jar laid open on the countertop. It went in flawlessly, much to both of their shock. “Huh? Maybe it is my day after all,” Sam said with a smile as she began to pour syrup over her waffles. She then glanced at the clock on the wall and groaned. She had a little less than half an hour before she needed to be at work, since it was <em>not </em>in fact, the weekend after all.</p><p>            “You’ve got some time, and I’ll take care of the dishes before I walk to school,” Ruby said as she noticed her mother’s revelation of the time. “I’ll have your gift ready by dinner!”</p><p>           </p><p> </p><p>LINE BREAK</p><p>           </p><p>            For some reason, the supermarket had</p><p>            “Well this is cliché,” Faora drawled as she calmly swung her grocery bag back and forth. Perhaps ten meters down the alley she was passing had some kind of standoff going on.  There were four young men surrounding a teenage girl with a backpack. Well, a couple of the boys had backpacks too. To Faora’s bemusement, all <em>four </em>were holding knives in various hilariously untrained poses. If not for the fact Faora decided to eavesdrop on them, they could’ve been part of the local subpar drama club rehearsing a rendition of <em>West Side Story.</em></p><p>The lone girl got the closest to holding her switchblade in a defendable position, but her hand was trembling and Faora could see her brown eyes wide with fear and adrenaline. Her stance needed some work too.</p><p>            “Cut the shit Arias, we <em>told you </em>what would happen if you didn’t pay up,” the tallest guy said.</p><p>            “It’s like less than $200! I’ll get it to you, I just need a couple more weeks,” the girl replied with remarkable poise considering there were multiple blades pointed at her face. “Put your knives down so we can talk about this. I <em>told you </em>that I needed my paycheck for something else, but you’ll have your money before midterms even start, alright?”</p><p>            Faora raised an eyebrow at the exchange. She honestly expected an attempted sexual assault, or a straight up mugging. Highschool debt shark drama was much more interesting. Faora took an irritated breath before deciding to pass on this. If the girl didn’t pay up, who was she to intercede on the debtor’s behalf?</p><p>            “Well since you don’t have the money, you’ll have to give us something else,” the tallest of the lot said with smirk. One of the other boys looked immediately uncomfortable while another just leered at the girl, Arias. Faora almost sighed aloud; it’s almost as if those dumbasses were <em>begging </em>for death.</p><p>            The girl looked instantly more afraid, and her knife trembled. Seeing the leering one take a step closer to her, she moved first. She struck out with her unarmed hand, just clasping his wrist mid-step and pulled him off-balance. She capitalized on his sudden imbalanced before the others reacted and drove her knife into his abdomen, twisted it sharply, and then ripped it laterally then out. Blood spurted out from his abdomen over her hand and watered the decaying asphalt they stood on. The wounded thug screamed and began to sob from the pain, darkness encroaching on his vision.</p><p>            Faora raised an eyebrow at the girl’s first strike, and grinned once her first assailant was downed. Not killed, yet; he was on the ground moaning, doing his level best to keep his intestines in his body. He was doing a good job of it to be fair. But not a good enough job to avoid passing out from blood loss.</p><p>            Arias’ other would-be rapists looked somehow even more determined to attack the smaller girl now. The one boy who looked uncomfortable at the idea of his friends sexually assaulting the girl seemed to have resolved whatever moral qualms he had after she gutted his buddy. But he didn’t look anywhere as eager as the remaining thugs.</p><p>“Oi, <em>Westside Story</em> people, what the fuck is this?” an accented voice drifted down the alleyway. The three teenagers turned to see a girl seemingly in college or grad school walking towards them while casually swinging a bag of groceries like she didn’t just walk into a knife fight. She set the bag on the ground, pulled on a pair of work gloves, and regarded them all with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>            “Who the fuck–,” one of the boys managed before he found a knife in his throat. His own knife, actually.</p><p>            Faora flicked the knife, opening the dumb boy’s throat, before flinging it <em>through the head </em>of the second one. She quickly knelt to the boy already on the ground and bashed his head down once, caving in his skull. “<em>Ups, das war vielleicht ein bisschen viel</em>,” Faora muttered under her breath as she looked at the shocked teenage girl. “<em>Mädchen</em>, I’m going to remove us from this crime scene now. Deep breath<em>,</em>”</p><p>            Arias the younger decided to heed the EXTREMELY FUCKING DANGEROUS stranger’s words and took a deep breath. She felt the air ripping by her in a blur of colors before being gently plopped down in on a comfy black pleather couch. “Where are we?!” The taller stranger with the grocery bag burred away. Arias just let out a nearly hysterical laugh before she was back with a hand clapped over the girl’s mouth.</p><p>            “Quieter, girl, we’re indoors after all,” Faora said with a smirk.</p><p>            “Don’t hurt me?” Arias asked, <em>squeaked</em>, after a few moments of composing herself.</p><p>            Faora raised an eyebrow in amusement but acknowledged the girl’s fear of her was legitimate. “I saved you from a terrible fate, and made it look as if those rapists were the latest victims of Reign. Brutal though she may be, she does not compromise with criminals. Are you alright?”</p><p>            “Yes.” There was something about the tall stranger that set Ruby at ease.</p><p>            “Fantastic. Now, I heard them call you ‘Arias’, but I’m guessing that’s your family name. May I know your first name?” Faora asked as she sat down next to the trembling teenager.</p><p>            “It’s Ruby. I’m Ruby Arias,” Ruby said quietly. She had briefly weighed the option of lying to the superhuman woman in front of her. But she realised that she really didn’t have secrets worth dying over, so she figured honestly was the smartest policy going forward; also, this woman <em>had </em>saved her, even if the methods she employed was 100% going to give her nightmares.</p><p>            “I’m Faora. What were you doing in that alley?” Faora asked as she got up and set about putting away her groceries at a very human speed.</p><p>            “Um. I owed them some money and they cornered me,” Ruby said.</p><p>            “You’re wearing designer label shoes and jewelry. The jewelry is subtle, but you’ve obviously got money to flaunt; so why didn’t you just pay up?” Faora pointed out with a raised eyebrow as she put an exorbitant amount of Parmesan Reggiano away in the fridge.</p><p>            Ruby shifted uncomfortably, and Faora rolled her eyes, “Look, <em>Mädchen</em>, I don’t care much about the secrets you keep in your life but try to be smarter next time. Are you hungry, by the way? I was about to start making pasta for myself, but I can certainly make enough for you to have if you want to stay around before I take you home. I can’t say it’s the healthiest pasta though.”</p><p>            The offer of food threw Ruby off. Here was a woman, who was almost definitely an alien of some kind, a murderer, offering to make her dinner. “What the fuck is my life right now?” Ruby wondered aloud. She promptly blushed as Faora let out a hearty laugh. That was <em>not </em>meant to be said for an audience.</p><p>            “It’s certainly taken a turn for the stranger hasn’t it?” Faora chuckled. “I’m guessing you have parents who are worrying about you?”</p><p>            “Just my mom. But she’s at work now,” Ruby said.</p><p>            “Oh, and what does she do?” Faora asked.</p><p>            “She’s um, she’s a CFO at a local tech company,” Ruby replied.</p><p>            “Explains the money,” Faora nodded. “Would you like me to take you home now or would you like food first, and I can call your mother to fetch you herself? She could join us if she gets off work in the next hour or so.”</p><p>            Ruby thought for a moment before deciding, “Might as well eat here. Thanks.”</p><p>            With that settled, Faora decided to wait a little bit to start the cooking part of the dinner until Ruby got confirmation from her mother via text whether or not she’d be able to join them later on. Suffice to say, when Ruby texted that she was at the house of a strange woman who saved her from ‘muggers’, and staying for dinner no less, Samantha wasn’t going to waste more time at work. She had her priorities in order.</p><p>            But when Faora opened the door she was pleasantly surprised to see not one but two women with almost identically intimidating gaze leveled her. “One of you is the mother right?”</p><p>“Where’s Ruby,” the taller of the two women replied. Her eyes were magnetic and it was all Faora could do not to fall into their depths.</p><p>“Well, come on in then Ms. Arias,” Faora said as Ruby’s mother basically blew right by her to confirm with her own eyes her daughter’s wellbeing. Before the second woman could also push past, Faora asked, “And you are?”</p><p>Faora received an almost unguarded look of bafflement her features transformed into something more imperious. “I’m Lena Luthor, let me in.” Faora nodded graciously and stepped aside for the youngest Luthor to grace her threshold.</p><p>The host grinned at the shorter woman before allowing her in and closing the door with a private smile to herself. “So, how do you all like Italian? Pasta is for dinner.”</p>
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